Wednesday, February 5, 2020

MALAWI PRESIDENT TO APPEAL COURT RULING OVERTURNING POLL RESULT


By Our Correspondent, Lilongwe MALAWI

Malawi’s president, Peter Mutharika, will appeal the Constitutional Court’s ruling which nullified the 21 May 2019 presidential elections saying the court’s judgement is a miscarriage of justice.
Peter Mutharika
Mutharika’s spokesperson Mgeme Kalirani has confirmed that the Malawi leader is planning to appeal against the ruling which was delivered on Monday.

Kalirani has told the state broadcaster MBC that the judgement “is a serious miscarriage of justice and an attack on the foundations of democracy in Malawi.”

On Monday, the five-member panel of the Constitutional Court nullified the 2019 presidential elections saying there were widespread irregularities that marred the polls in which Mutharika was declared winner.

The court mentioned the use of correction fluid – tippex – on tally sheets, the Malawi Electoral Commission’s declaration of results using tally sheets that were not verified by auditors and the commission’s failure to conduct the elections in accordance to electoral laws.

According to the court, these irregularities undermined the integrity of the elections and the results cannot be trusted.

The court then declared that Mutharika was not duly elected as President of Malawi in the May 21 Elections and ordered the electoral commission to hold fresh elections in five months.

The Constitutional Court’s judgement came months after Malawi Congress Party president Lazarus Chakwera and UTM leader Saulos Chilima challenged the outcome of the 2019 presidential elections. - Africa

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